London/Munich. BMW and Frieze continue their
long-term partnership with the major artistic initiative BMW Open Work
by Frieze. Curated by Attilia Fattori Franchini, the initiative brings
together art, design and technology in pioneering multi-platform
formats. The artist chosen to create the second BMW Open Work for
Frieze London 2018 is New York-based artist Sam Lewitt.
The concept
Curated by Attilia Fattori Franchini, BMW Open Work is a major
artistic initiative which brings together art, design and technology
in pioneering multi-platform formats. The New York-based artist Sam
Lewitt is the second artist chosen to create the BMW Open Work by
Frieze. Lewitt will debut his ambitious new installation and
soundscape at Frieze London, October 4–7, 2018.
Lewitt’s practice investigates the circulation of information and
matter, opening up operatively closed systems and institutional
structures in the process.
Entitled CORE (the “Work”), Lewitt’s new commission for BMW Open Work
focuses on motor engineering and technology, to conceptually and
physically explore the production cycle of a BMW engine. Spurred by
the artist’s dialogue with BMW engine specialists, CORE uses physical
materials and manufacturing techniques from engineering, to re-imagine
the engine manufacturing cycle as an engine in itself. In the process
CORE engages with the structure of the commissioning system itself, by
addressing relations of symbolic and material exchange within the
work’s form.
Lewitt’s new commission will unfold as an installation in the BMW
Lounge at Frieze London 2018, a soundscape in the Courtesy Car Service
at the fair, and online at closed_core.com.
Franchini said:
“Now in its second year, BMW Open Work offers to
artists the possibility of engaging in a rich dialogue with BMW
engineering and design expertise. This dialogue is a unique
possibility of encounter and creation between different fields.
Working with a sharp artist such as Sam Lewitt, whose project
challenges conceptually and sculpturally our understanding at the core
of motor corporate production, is absolutely thrilling.”
“Commissioning new work has been at the heart of Frieze London since
it began. Through this partnership with BMW, we are thrilled to be
supporting ambitious, thought-provoking work and opening up
conversations between art, design and technology”, said Jo
Stella-Sawicka, Artistic Director, Frieze.
Dr Nicolas Peter, Member of the Board of Management of BMW Group,
said: “We are extremely happy seeing BMW Open Work moving forward in
its second year. Attilia Fattori Franchini has done an exceptional job
shaping this initiative and making it another great example of BMW’s
commitment to artistic freedom in creative practice. It has been very
exciting to see Sam Lewitt engage with our BMW engineers and experts,
and I cannot wait to see the result come to life in our BMW Lounge
later in the year.”
For further information in the course of the project, please
go to:
https://frieze.com/bmw-open-work
BMW has been partnering with Frieze since 2004. In 2012, they
co-initiated the ‘Frieze Sounds’ program. BMW Open Work builds upon
this long-term collaboration since 2017. Olivia Erlanger was
selected for the inaugural commission. Her work ‘Body Electric’
offered an immersive, sensory exploration of natural
phenomena and their relation to humankind’s technological achievements.
For further questions please contact:
Prof. Dr. Thomas Girst
BMW Group Corporate and Governmental Affairs
Cultural Engagement
Telephone: +49 89 382 24753, Fax: +49 89 382 24418
Leonie Laskowski
BMW Group Corporate and Governmental Affairs
Cultural Engagement
Telephone: +49 89 382 45382, Fax: +49 89 382 24418
E-Mail: [email protected]
Michelangelo Bendandi
Communications
Frieze
Telephone: +44 3372 6100
E-Mail: [email protected]
About Frieze
Frieze is the leading platform for modern and contemporary art for
scholars, connoisseurs, collectors and the general public alike.
Frieze comprises three magazines—frieze magazine, Frieze Masters
Magazine and Frieze Week—and three international art fairs—Frieze
London, Frieze Masters and Frieze New York. Additionally, Frieze
organizes a program of special courses and lectures in London and
abroad through Frieze Academy.
Frieze was founded in 1991 by Matthew Slotover and Amanda Sharp, with
the launch of frieze magazine, the leading international magazine of
contemporary art and culture. In 2003, Sharp and Slotover launched
Frieze London art fair, which takes place each October in The Regent’s
Park, London. In 2012, they launched Frieze New York, which occurs
each May in Randall’s Island Park, and Frieze Masters, which coincides
with Frieze London in October and is dedicated to art from ancient to modern.
About Attilia Fattori Franchini
Attilia Fattori Franchini is an independent curator and writer based
in London. She is co-founder of the not for profit platforms
bubblebyte.org and Opening Times and contributes
critical essays and reviews to international publications. Fattori
Franchini is currently working on Curva Blu, a residency project in
Favignana, Sicily; the curated_by Festival in Vienna, 2018 and will
direct the next edition of the Termoli Art Prize, Italy.
Recent projects include: Red Lake at Point Centre for
Contemporary Art, Nicosia, (CY), 2018; the Emergent section
of miart, 2018; ARS17+ at Kiasma, Museum of Contemporary Art,
Helsinki, 2017; Céu Torto, BFA, São Paulo, BR, 2017;
Dawning, Mexico City, MX, 2017; Europa and the Bull,
LambdaLambdaLambda, Pristina, KO, 2016; Oa4s, Temra and David
in 4 parts, Sorbus, Helsinki, 2016; Yves Scherer, Snow
White and The Huntsman, Mexico City, 2016; Bold
Tendencies 2015, London.
About Sam Lewitt
Sam Lewitt is an artist based in New York. Selected institutional
solo exhibitions include: Swiss Institute, New York (2016), Kunsthalle
Basel (2016) and The Wattis Institute for Contemporary Art, San
Francisco (2015). Selected group exhibitions include Other
Mechanisms, Secession, Vienna (2018), Crash Test, La
Panacée, Montpellier (2018), the 57th Venice Biennale, Venice (2017),
A Slow Succession with Many Interruptions, San Francisco
Museum of Modern Art, San Francisco (2016), Nature after
Nature at Fridericianum, Kassel (2014), and Materials and
Money and Crisis, MUMOK, Vienna (2013) and the Whitney Biennial (2012).
About BMW Group’s Cultural Commitment
For almost 50 years now, the BMW Group has initiated and engaged
in over 100 cultural
cooperations worldwide. The company places the main focus of its
long-term commitment on contemporary and modern art, classical music
and jazz as well as architecture and design. In 1972, three
large-scale paintings were created by the artist Gerhard Richter
specifically for the foyer of the BMW Group’s Munich headquarters.
Since then, artists such as Andy Warhol, Jeff Koons, Daniel
Barenboim, Jonas Kaufmann and architect Zaha Hadid have co-operated
with BMW. In 2016 and 2017, female artist Cao Fei from China and
American John Baldessari created the next two vehicles for the BMW
Art Car Collection. Besides co-initiatives, such as BMW Tate Live,
the BMW Art Journey and the “Opera for All” concerts in Berlin,
Munich and London, the company also partners with leading museums
and art fairs as well as orchestras and opera houses around the
world. The BMW Group takes absolute creative freedom in all its
cultural activities – as this initiative is as essential for
producing groundbreaking artistic work as it is for major
innovations in a successful business.
Further information: www.bmwgroup.com/culture
and www.bmwgroup.com/culture/overview
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/BMWGroupCulture/
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/bmwgroupculture/
@BMWGroupCulture
#BMWGroupCulture
The BMW Group
With its four brands BMW, MINI, Rolls-Royce and BMW Motorrad, the BMW
Group is the world’s leading premium manufacturer of automobiles and
motorcycles and also provides premium financial and mobility services.
The BMW Group production network comprises 30 production and assembly
facilities in 14 countries; the company has a global sales network in
more than 140 countries.
In 2017, the BMW Group sold over 2,463,500 passenger vehicles and
more than 164,000 motorcycles worldwide. The profit before tax in the
financial year 2017 was € 10.655 billion on revenues amounting to
€ 98.678 billion. As of 31 December 2017, the BMW Group had a
workforce of 129,932 employees.
The success of the BMW Group has always been based on long-term
thinking and responsible action. The company has therefore established
ecological and social sustainability throughout the value chain,
comprehensive product responsibility and a clear commitment to
conserving resources as an integral part of its strategy.
Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/BMWGroup
Twitter: http://twitter.com/BMWGroup
YouTube: http://www.youtube.com/BMWGroupview
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